Robert William "Bob" Hoskins Jr. was born on October 26, 1942 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, UK. He is an English Academy Award-nominated actor.

Hoskins made his film debut in 1972 with a minor role in the comedy Up the Front. Three years later he got his first substantial film role in the forgettable Inserts, but in 1980, he made a significant breakthrough, turning in a brilliant portrayal of a successful gangster whose world suddenly begins to fall apart in The Long Good Friday. He found even greater success six years later portraying a gangster-turned-chauffeur assigned to a high-priced call girl in Mona Lisa.

He received Best Actor awards from Cannes, the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics, and BAFTA. Short, stocky and balding, but nonetheless a romantic, Hoskins' ability to play the bewilderment of the common man had first emerged in Dennis Potter's BBC six-part serial, Pennies from Heaven (1978), and was developed in The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987). His tendency to express his bewilderment through violence had appeared in John MacKenzie's The Long Good Friday (1981). He also played J. Edgar Hoover in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995).

He also starred in Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Hollywoodland (2006) and Outlaw (2007). Hoskins also played Nikita Khrushchev in the movie Enemy at the Gates (2001).

Filmography

• A Christmas Carol (2009)
• Doomsday (2007)
• Ruby Blue (2007)
• "The Englishman's Boy" (2007)
• Go Go Tales (2007)
• Outlaw (2007)
• Sparkle (2007)
• The Wind in the Willows (2006)
• Hollywoodland (2006)
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
• Paris, je t'aime (2006)
• Stay (2005)
• Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)
• Son of the Mask (2005)
• Danny the Dog (2005)
• Beyond the Sea (2004)
• Vanity Fair (2004)
• Den of Lions (2003)
• "Frasier" (1 episode, 2003)
• The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
• Papa buono, Il (2003)
• Maid in Manhattan (2002)
• There Eskimos Live (2002)
• The Lost World (2001)
• Last Orders (2001)
• Enemy at the Gates (2001)
• Don Quixote (2000)
• Noriega: God's Favorite (2000)
• American Virgin (2000)
• David Copperfield (1999)
• The White River Kid (1999)
• "The Forgotten Toys" (1999)
• A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)
• Felicia's Journey (1999)
• Captain Jack (1999)
• Parting Shots (1999)
• Let the Good Times Roll (1999)
• Cousin Bette (1998)
• "Saturday Night Live" (1 episode, 1998)
• Spice World (1997)
• 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)
• Michael (1996)
• The Secret Agent (1996)
• Rainbow (1996)
• "Tales from the Crypt" (1 episode, 1996)
• Balto (1995)
• Nixon (1995)
• The Forgotten Toys (1995)
• The Changeling (1994)
• The Big Freeze (1993)
• Super Mario Bros. (1993)
• Blue Ice (1992)
• Passed Away (1992)
• The Inner Circle (1991)
• Hook (1991)
• Shattered (1991)
• The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991)
• Mermaids (1990)
• Heart Condition (1990)
• The Raggedy Rawney (1988)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)
• A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
• Mona Lisa (1986)
• Sweet Liberty (1986)
• Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce (1985)
• Brazil (1985)
• The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (1985)
• The Dunera Boys (1985)
• The Cotton Club (1984)
• Lassiter (1984)
• The Honorary Consul (1983)
• The Beggar's Opera (1983)
• Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)
• Othello (1981)
• The Long Good Friday (1980)
• "Flickers" (1980)
• Brecht and Co (1979)
• "Big Jim and the Figaro Club" (1979)
• Zulu Dawn (1979)
• Of Mycenae and Men (1979)
• "Pennies from Heaven" (1978)
• "On the Move" (1978)
• "Rock Follies of '77" (3 episodes, 1977)
• "Van der Valk" (1 episode, 1977)
• "Three Piece Suite" (1 episode, 1977)
• "The Crezz" (1 episode, 1976)
• "Thriller" (1 episode, 1976)
• Royal Flash (1975)
• "Play for Today" (3 episodes, 1972-1974)
• "Thick as Thieves" (4 episodes, 1974)
• "Shoulder to Shoulder" (1974)
• Inserts (1974)
• "Softly Softly" (1 episode, 1973)
• "New Scotland Yard" (1 episode, 1973)
• "Crown Court" (1 episode, 1973)
• The National Health (1973)
• "Villains" (1 episode, 1972)
• Up the Front (1972)
• "Highway Patrol" (1 episode 1972)

Awards

• The National Board of Review Best Ensemble "Mrs. Henderson Presents" 2005
• National Board of Review Best Ensemble "Last Orders" 2001
• Genie Best Actor "Felicia's Journey" 1999
• European Film Award Best Actor "TwentyFourSeven" 1997
• BAFTA Award Best Actor "Mona Lisa" 1986
• Cannes Film Festival Best Actor "Mona Lisa" 1986
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "Mona Lisa" 1986
• Los Angeles Film Critics Best Actor "Mona Lisa" 1986
• National Society of Film Critics Best Actor "Mona Lisa" 1986
• New York Film Critics Best Actor "Mona Lisa" 1986
• London Critics' Circle Best Actor "Guys and Dolls" and "True West" 1982